Gay NASA Engineer Troy Hudson Tells Us What It's Like to Land a Probe on Mars

Gay Twitter’s latest heartthrob is Troy Hudson, a.k.a. Science Daddy, an engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who helped land the InSight probe on Mars last week, and who is also a proud leatherman.

As an instrument system engineer on the InSight mission, Hudson ensures that different components of the spacecraft work in harmony. He’s been obsessed with science and space since he was a kid, watching on TV as Voyager flew past Saturn’s rings and sharing his mother’s fandom for Carl Sagan. But as he worked towards an engineering career, Hudson found few openly queer scientists to look up to. His hope now is that by being out and open, he can be a role model for young LGBTQ+ students and researchers inspired by today’s cutting edge exploration in space.

Courtesy of Troy Hudson

What have been some highlights of the last two weeks for you?

Landing on MARS is pretty darn tough to beat! Entry, descent, and landing went flawlessly, and the MarCO cubesats delivered our first picture from the surface of Mars in about 10 minutes. I’ve spent more time on hold with customer service! Our landing site looks perfect: smooth, flat, and boring, exactly the way we wanted it. It should be no trouble to deploy our instruments and start getting science, so I'm super excited to get that process going.

On top of the high from all the technical success, the viral exposure as a gay scientist/engineer to the LGBTQ+ community has been a tremendous boost to me personally. The flirts and woofs and propositions are of course supremely flattering. But beyond that, I suddenly have this platform where I can make visible the combination of a technical career and being an out and proud gay man, and that's huge. I wore my Pride pin that day with the hopes that someone in our community would see it…and it has happened in a big way. (The thigh harness was an Easter egg for the leather community — and it got noticed too!)

Why is the InSight mission important, and how will the data be used?

InSight gives us data about the interior structure and temperature of Mars. Familiar layers like core and mantle and crust exist on Mars, but we don't know much about them. By looking inside Mars, InSight gives us a glimpse into Earth's past and increases our understanding of rocky planets in general. As we continue to find planets around other stars, the question arises: How common are Earth-like planets? Is Earth an anomaly, being the only time life ever arose in the universe? Or is the galaxy full of beautiful blue marbles like Earth? These are some of the big picture questions InSight's data can help answer.

Why is space exploration important to you?

It’s always been a part of who I am. I think planets are beautiful and fascinating, and I love learning about the natural world. The dance of the planets — the way that they move, governed by simple laws that are geometrically perfect, and they’re tilted and they spin and they orbit each other — I find that motion to be fascinating.

Have you found much overlap between the science community and the LGBTQ+ community?

I think there is a misconception that academics are unadventurous or distracted from their own sexuality by their studies and cerebral interests, and that view makes scientists seem like something 'other' than human. It's a perception that engenders distance and maybe even mistrust. I want people to know that scientists and engineers are not neuter automatons; we hope and dream and love and lust, just like everyone else. You don't have to choose between being "cerebral" and being "carnal" — both are part of the beauty of human experience.

How often are you in a position to explain your scientific work to LGBTQ+ folks, or to explain LGBTQ+ topics to colleagues?

Talking science at a bar, at a dance, or at a dinner/house/pool party just happens with me. My big hero in that respect is Carl Sagan. He had this ability to convey the beauty and wonder and awe of the universe while not skimping on the technical details. He didn't dumb it down, he welcomed you to come with him on the journey. There is beauty in the universe's complexity and when I talk to people I try to find the 'hook' that will engage their interest and let them see the fascinating facets of existence.

On the flip side, I'm totally out at work. When I meet a new colleague (JPL is a big place with over 5000 people), we usually engage first on a professional level. But it usually isn't long before we talk about our personal lives, or maybe they see me wearing a shirt with a Pride flag or a message like "Love Conquers Hate.” I think it's important for me to present that aspect of myself openly so they feel free to talk about it.

Are there queer role models or mentors working in STEM who motivated you in your career?

There were two people, professors at Caltech, who were out when I was a graduate student there. Though they didn’t work on spacecraft or interplanetary instruments, they were and are highly respected members of their fields… By their example, they showed me that, at Caltech at least, their identities weren't something they had to hide. I’m sure this had at least a subconscious influence on me and my decisions not to hide myself. It felt good to not be the only gay man in that department; it helped me feel comfortable and safe.

Have you ever had concerns about staying closeted in academic or professional settings?

No, that's something I decided to never compromise on. About 10 years ago, I started wearing that Pride pin — the same one I wore on landing day. I don't wear it every day at work, but it would be there on my shirt whenever I'd give a public talk, or a scientific lecture, or a television interview, or just met with colleagues from other NASA centers. It's been my way of combating LGBTQIA invisibility, and I encourage others in STEM fields to do likewise.

The most powerful thing you can ever do for someone else is to show them that they are not alone. There's a general rule-of-thumb in my line of work: There is either none of a thing (it does not exist), there is one of a thing (it is an anomaly brought about by random and unlikely processes), or there's tons of a thing (it happens all the time throughout the universe).

I've reached scores of people who may have felt alone in one way or another. I've received tear-jerking letters from gay scientists thanking me for being so public and open. So I feel like I'm helping people who may have felt like the anomaly in their world — the "only one of a thing." Seeing me, they realize there just might be lots of people like them and suddenly they aren't alone at all.

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What is your connection to the leather community?

Oh, that's been a part of me for a long time. Not as long as space and science perhaps, but the attraction has been undeniable ever since I saw my first Tom of Finland drawing. I attended my first leather event in January 2001 before starting grad school, and I found a family I didn't know I'd been missing.

I think that public openness about our desires, desires that broader society tells us must always be private, allows us to connect with each other on very deep and meaningful levels.

Any kind of exploration is similar in some way — you’re trying to figure out something you don’t know. You’re letting out some expression of yourself, you’re seeing inside people, seeing what makes another person tick.

Thinking back to the person you were at the start of your career, what would you have thought of the work and life that you have today?

I don't think 2008-era me would be surprised about anything I'm doing. I think I knew that being at JPL, I'd eventually have the opportunity to operate scientific instruments on another planet. InSight is a culmination of my dream to be on Mars, even if it's through a robotic proxy. But there's lots more space and plenty of worlds to explore, so I'll keep exploring as long as I'm able.

I’m proud that I get to do this. I am who I am, and I get to show that to the world. Who else gets to say that on Mars?

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